No Matter What
by LilyGhost
Summary: This is a Stephanie and Ranger songfic. Ranger enlists Stephanie's help for a distraction job, but the job doesn't go exactly as planned.


**This story is inspired by the song "No Matter What" by Papa Roach. The scene at the end of this was based on something I saw on the Special Ops episode of Fight Science. It looked like something Ranger would do, and I thought it would also make a good ending to this story. All familiar characters belong to Janet Evanovich. Any mistakes are mine. Warning for language.**

I walked into the bedroom and stood watching Stephanie slide a pair of large hoop earrings into her ears. We had a capture scheduled for tonight and Steph had agreed to be part of it. She turned to face me and I felt my heart, along with parts much lower on my body, tighten almost painfully. The clothes that she was wearing weren't all that different from what she normally wore for work, with the exception of the stilettos on her feet. Her t-shirt had a much deeper V, showing more skin than I would have liked and I noticed, with an appreciative glance, that her black jeans sat a little lower on her hips and were definitely tighter than what she uses as a uniform. I've always put business before pleasure but tonight, I really wanted to make an exception to that rule. Stephanie always looks sexy to me, but right now she looked like a fucking Rangeman centerfold come to life. She was in head-to-toe black making her flawless ivory skin stand out even more. And besides just looking good, the air surrounding her was palpable. When Stephanie started psyching herself up for a job, she gave off an excited, almost restless, energy that never fails to draw a similar reaction from me.

I managed to get my mind off of Stephanie's body, and what I'd like to do to it, and back on what was happening tonight, but it wasn't easy. I didn't like putting Steph in danger. I would like nothing better than to lock her up in a safe house or have a guard on her every second that I couldn't be there to watch over her personally, but I respected her too much to do it. She had said that she always wanted to fly as a child, and I don't think that anything has changed since she's become an adult. I wasn't going to be another person trying to clip her wings. I knew we had taken every security precaution we could to ensure that tonight went as planned, but there was always a chance that it wouldn't. Unfortunately, I needed her help to make sure that no one, other than the FTA, got hurt in the process. Steph has an incredible ability to get people to do things that they wouldn't necessarily do otherwise. It wasn't just the fact that she was hotter than hell, but more about the way she carries herself. She wasn't going to be taken advantage of, but she was willing to give you a chance if she thought you deserved one.

Ormond Kittredge didn't deserve a chance. He was arrested for armed robbery in which two people were killed. He showed no remorse for the deaths that occurred that night or for the person he killed before it. He wasn't getting out of jail this time. And he knew it. So taking him in was going to be challenging to say the least. That's where Steph came in. If she can get him away from the pack of gang wannabe's that he surrounds himself with, the capture should go smoothly. Stephanie was unbelievably lucky sixty percent of the time, but it was the forty percent that I was worried about. Yes I needed her help, but not at the expense of her being harmed. If Stephanie wasn't all right, chances were good that I wouldn't be, either.

_I need you right here, by my side_

_You're everything I'm not in my life_

_We're indestructible, we are untouchable_

_Nothing can take us down tonight_

_You are so beautiful, it should be criminal_

_That you could be mine_

I walked up behind her."Are you ready, Babe."

"Yep. Do I look okay?" She asked me.

"You look beautiful."

She gave a little snort at that, but she did look happy that I had said it. She still had a hard time accepting compliments, but it was getting easier for her the longer we were together. Sometimes I wonder what she she would do if I flat-out thanked her for picking me. For choosing me to spend her life with. She would probably be only slightly more shocked than I would be at my admitting something that personal out loud.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" Steph asked.

"Pretty much the same as other jobs ... with one exception," I told her.

"What's the exception?"

"Kittredge is more dangerous than any of the other FTAs you've brought in for Rangeman, so you're going to have to be aware of everything around you at all times. And you're going to have to be careful not to give him a reason to suspect you of being anything other than a woman looking for a good time."

She looked at me, but didn't say anything.

"Babe, you know I'll be there with you," I said to her."And the guys are going to be positioned both inside and outside of the building. You are _not_ doing this alone." My eyes caught hers, and I waited long enough for her to realize that what I was about to say was important."I don't want you doing this unless you're sure, Steph. If you're uneasy at all about this takedown, you need to tell me now." Stephanie has great instincts, and I wasn't stupid enough to ignore them.

She took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and straightened her spine. I've seen her do this a lot over the last couple of months. Usually it was reserved for a Burg resident intent on obtaining some good gossip. Steph was readying herself for battle. And she's had more than her fair share of practice. Anyone facing off against her wouldn't stand a chance.

"I'm sure," she said."And I'm no more uneasy than usual. If _you_ think I can do this, then there's no reason why _I_ would think that I couldn't." She smiled up at me.

"No one can do what you do, Babe," I said to her, meaning more than just how she does her job. Her smile got wider and I knew she understood what I meant. For years, I thought I was satisfied with my life. I only did goverment jobs when I chose to. My security businesses were successful. I had a few people to talk to if I felt the need, and plenty of places to go if I didn't. Then I met Stephanie Plum. And she proceeded to change my thinking on what exactly constituted happiness in my life. Money, success, power, privacy ... none of that mattered when I was faced with the possibility of her not sharing it with me.

_And we will make it out alive_

_I'll promise you this love will never die_

_No matter what, I got your back_

_I'll take a bullet for you if it comes to that_

_I swear to God that in the bitter end_

_We're gonna be the last ones standing_

As much as she plays it off, choosing me and Rangeman over her Burg life hadn't been an easy decision for her. Her mother didn't understand it. To say Morelli was fucking pissed would be a gross understatement. And her friends, except for Lula and Connie, didn't feel at all comfortable around me. So it was safe to say that she had given up a lot just to be here with me. She shouldn't have had to. If the people who claimed to know, and love, her would have just realized how special of a person she was and supported her decision, I would be able to sleep better knowing that I wasn't the cause of her losing an important part of her life.

Sometimes the fact that someone had that kind of faith in me was mind-blowing. I've done a lot of horrible things throughout the years. Many of them necessary. But to have someone like Stephanie believe in me the way that she does, has made me feel like even though I couldn't change any of the things that I've done, I could at least live with them now. I stopped myself from remembering that part of my past, and concentrated on the woman in front of me.

"Where did you just go?" She asked me.

"Just thinking about tonight, Babe," I said to her. I could see that she didn't believe me, but she didn't force the issue. I hoped to God that she never had to know exactly where I went in my mind. Or in my past. And what I went through once I was there. She knew there were things that I was never going to talk about. And it still amazes me that she doesn't push me to tell her any of them. Steph is inquisitive by nature, but it seemed like she wasn't going to risk asking me to dig up something that I might not be able to bury again. What would probably frighten her more was the fact that I would do it all over again just to make it to where I was standing today.

_So believe me when I say, you're the one_

_They'll never forgive us for the things we've done_

I wrapped my arms around Ranger and just held him. When he went all quiet like that, I knew he wasn't going to say what was on his mind, but I always wanted to give him the opportunity to talk about it if he needed to. I had hoped after a while that he would have opened up a little more about what his life was like before settling back in Trenton, but there comes a point where I know even talking about things doesn't help. I still couldn't discuss what happened with Scrog, no matter who was asking. Even Ranger didn't know everything about that night; when I finally admitted to myself just how much that I loved him. I had loved Joe, too, but I realized the difference that night. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to reveal that information to the both of them.

Ranger let me hold him for a few more minutes. I wasn't sure if he needed the contact or if he knew that I did. Either way, I wasn't going to complain. I _was_ a little nervous about tonight, but I knew Ranger and the guys were watching out for me. They would have planned everything down to the last detail, and then gone over the plan three or four times afterwards looking for potential problems. If something _were_ to go wrong tonight then there probably wasn't any way of stopping it, so I tried to push the nerves away.

Ranger pulled back slightly, and looked down at me. It was still surprising to see his eyes go all soft like that when he looks at me. I could forget about all the crappy things in my life; like how my mother still isn't speaking to me for breaking up with Joe, and being snubbed by people I once considered friends. I didn't realize exactly how personal cops take it when they think you've hurt one of their own. Mary Lou still tries, but our lives are so different that it's more effort than fun when we finally do get together. All the way down to Vinnie, who was still pissed at me for leaving the bonds office to come work full-time at Rangeman. Even though he was constantly complaining about how bad of a bounty hunter I was in the first place. As I looked back at Ranger, I knew it was worth it. I wouldn't let myself care about the rest of it. I had everything I needed. Connie and Lula were still happy to see me whenever I dropped by the office or needed a shopping buddy. And I would say that Ranger's men had welcomed me with open arms, but that would imply that they had showed emotion, and I'm pretty sure that was strictly against Rangeman policy, but I could tell that they weren't opposed to having Rex and I hanging around. They've sort of become like a surrogate family to me.

Ranger tightened his hold on me for a moment."As much as I'd love to stay like this, Babe," Ranger said, letting me go,"we have to leave in five minutes."

I smiled up at him."Don't worry, I'm not going to drag my feet on this. I want this night over with even more than you do."

With Ranger's arm around me, we left the bedroom and stopped just long enough for me to grab my bag on the way out the door.

_And we will make it out alive_

_I'll promise you this love will never die_

_No matter what, I got your back_

_I'll take a bullet for you if it comes to that_

_I swear to God that in the bitter end_

_We're gonna be the last ones standing_

We made it to the bar fifteen minutes early. Tank, Lester, Hal, and Bobby were all in place. Two inside the bar, and two out. I wanted Steph to lure the skip out, but I wasn't ruling out that something bad could go down inside the bar.

"Okay, Babe, remember just get him out here and we'll handle the rest."

"You're the boss," she said to me.

"Wise ass," I said, kissing her quickly, but thoroughly, before releasing her."Go get 'em, Babe."

The men and I were tense, waiting in complete silence until Stephanie walked out of the building ten minutes later with Ormond right behind her. I had to give her credit, a few minutes alone with her, and he was willing to follow her anywhere she wanted him to go. Unfortunately, that was when all hell broke loose.

We didn't factor the erratic behavior of the skip into our plans. And it appeared that he wasn't at all concerned about his impending jail time when presented with a woman like Stephanie, because as soon as the door closed behind him he spun around and pinned her to the wall by her throat. I knew that under normal circumstances she would have been able to get herself away from him, but I took the matter out of her hands when I saw a gun being pulled from underneath his shirt when she tried to knee him in the groin. I forced myself to wait until I was sure his attention was solely on Stephanie; ignoring everything else around him, before I crept up silently behind them, my gun trained on Kittredge's head. He was tracing Steph's cheek with the muzzle of the gun, but froze when he heard my voice.

"If you're hands aren't off of her in two seconds, I'm going to remove them for you. And I can promise you that it will be slow and _extremely_ painful."

His head whipped around towards me. When he caught sight of the Glock in my hand, he tightened his hold on Stephanie's neck and pointed his gun at me instead. I was close enough to touch him, but I wanted Stephanie away from him before I did.

_We'll never fall, we'll never fade_

_I'll promise you forever and my soul today_

_No matter what until the bitter end_

_We're gonna be the last ones standing_

Kittredge's gun was now pointed at Ranger, and I didn't want to think about what would happen if his finger even twitched on the trigger. I knew that I had to keep calm and be ready to help Ranger in any way that I could. We were going to get through this, I told myself. We had to. I couldn't let myself consider the alternative. Kittredge started talking and I forced myself to focus on what he was saying instead of on my increasing panic.

"Put the fucking gun down and let me walk away, then you can have the bitch back."

Ranger more than likely had tons of other weapons on his body, but he wouldn't be able to get to any of them without Kittredge noticing and possibly getting himself shot. I knew that the men were close by, but I also knew that they wouldn't move in until they got some signal from Ranger that reinforcements were needed.

Ranger calmly set the gun down on the ground in front of him.

"Ranger, no!" I yelled.

"Shut up!" Ormond screamed at me. And as soon as Ranger had stood back up, Kittredge flung me away from him and towards Ranger. The gun in his hand never wavering.

I wanted to do something, but I wasn't sure what. Ranger tried to grab my arm with his free hand but I avoided it while I tried to come up with a way to draw Kittredge's gun away from Ranger.

"Stephanie!" Ranger shouted."Get behind me!"

_And everybody said that we would never last,_

_And if they saw us now I bet they'd take it back_

_It doesn't matter what we do and what we say_

_'Cause nothing matters anyway_

I was scared. I was terrified for Ranger. And I hesitated, looking for a way,_ any _way, to get the gun pointed at something other than the man I love.

I must have taken longer than Ranger wanted me to."Steph, now!"

I took a step back and over. The second I was out of immediate danger, and before Kittredge realized what Ranger was about to do, Ranger had reached out with his left hand, grabbed the muzzle of the gun and pushed it away from his face while moving his head to the side out of the line of fire. His right arm came up simultaneously and slammed into Ormond's jaw. I heard a crunch and it was obvious that he was knocked out. By the time Kittredge had started to fall, Ranger already had the gun in his right hand, his finger on the trigger, the gun following Kittredge's descent to the ground until he was lying face up on it, no longer a threat. If I hadn't of seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed that it had happened. I barely blinked and Ranger had the skip incapacitated.

I took a deep breath and tried to get my heart settled back into my chest where it belonged. Now I know why Joe and Ranger were always angry at me when they thought I had taken an unnecessary risk. It was far worse watching someone you love in trouble, than being in it yourself.

_No matter what, I got your back_

_I'll take a bullet for you if it comes to that_

_I swear to God that in the bitter end_

_We're gonna be the last ones standing_

Ranger had the guy cuffed and had started searching him for additional weapons."Tank!" Ranger barked when he was done."Get him out of here!"

After the skip and the guys were loaded into their respective SUV's, and Ranger and I were alone, I turned to him."Jesus, Ranger. Don't ever do that again! You scared the friggin' hell out of me!"

"I had it under control, Babe." Was all he said.

"Yeah, I can see that, but _I_ sure as heck didn't," I told him. I could feel tears gathering in my eyes."I couldn't handle having you taken away from me," I said quietly, not being able to keep a tear from escaping.

Ranger cupped my face in his hands, and wiped the tear away with his thumb. He brushed a light kiss across my lips before he spoke."I'm not going anywhere, Babe."

He paused for a moment before speaking again."Do you think it would have been any easier for me if I had lost you?"

"Well no, but I couldn't just stand by and watch you get hurt without doing _something_."

"Listen very carefully, Babe," Ranger said, his hands still cupping my face."You are never, _never_, to sacrifice yourself in order to save me. Is that clear?"

"You do it all the time," I said.

"I'm also trained to. You're good at what you do, but sometimes you aren't going to be able to help the situation the way that you want to."

"That's where you come in?"

"Yes."

"Hmm ... I distract and then you act?" I sent him a small smile."We work well together, don't we?" I asked.

"_Everything_ we do together, Steph, we do well. Always have." And his mouth covered mine.

After a bone-melting moment, Ranger raised his head and laced his fingers through mine."Come on, Babe, let's go home."

_We'll never fall(We'll never fall)_

_We'll never fade(We'll never fade)_

_No matter what until the bitter end_

_We're gonna be the last ones standing ..._


End file.
